Jaguars

The Jaguars re-signed CB Montaric Brown to a three-year, $33 million deal this offseason. Jacksonville HC Liam Coen said Brown hasn’t changed since getting his new contract and thinks he will continue to improve this season. 

“He’s always kinda played in practice with confidence,” Coen said, via JaguarsWire. “There’s areas in which he can continue to improve, but, look, we signed him to a deal, and he comes out and is just… him. He’s practiced the same way, he’s approached the meetings and practices and games the same way since I’ve been here the whole time, so he’s consistent. He’s a pro. I think we’ll see another step from Buster this year in terms of confidence, especially in the red zone.”

Jaguars DC Anthony Campanile said Brown is working on developing at the line of scrimmage, along with covering breaks and fades. 

“I think he’s just trying to improve on some things, in terms of really all the levels,” Campanile said. “Line of scrimmage skills, break area skills, fade area skills. I think he’s also one of those guys who physically his body looks different like he’s improved in terms of his strength and all that stuff since we got here. So I do I do see a little bit of a physical difference in him.”

Texans

Texans DT Sheldon Rankins is set to enter the 10th year of his career. Houston HC DeMeco Ryans said the veteran brings a “calming presence” to their defense and communicates well on the field. 

“Sheldon brings a calming presence to the defense,” Ryans said, via Aaron Wilson. “We do a lot of communication, we put a lot on those guys from a standpoint of talking to each other, linebackers talking to the defensive line, so when you have a guy of Sheldon’s caliber who’s seen it all, done it all, very smart guy, very aware of formations, he can ID things that a lot of young guys can’t do and we don’t ask them to do. We can put more on Sheldon’s plate because of his experience. Having him there with Kayden is going to be significant for Kayden and his development. Kayden should grab a hold of Sheldon and not let him leave without gaining some type of insight, some type of knowledge every day on what it’s like to play in one of the toughest positions in football: interior defensive line. He needs to learn that from a guy who’s done it for over 10 years.”

Although Rankins appeared in all 17 games last season, he admits that he struggled with his health throughout the year, including shingles and viral meningitis. 

“So, I dealt with some health stuff last year, I won’t dive too deep into it,” Rankins said. “The biggest one that kind of took me out of playing, which was that I ended up having a shingles outbreak and viral meningitis at the same time. That knocked me out for a while. A lot of people don’t know and a lot of people thought: What type of illness or what type of thing could have someone out this long?’ A lot of people don’t know, I was literally laying horizontal in my house, in a dark house, for probably about a month and a half before I could really even sit up without feeling kind of crazy. So, I went through all that.”

As for Ryans going into his fourth year as the Texans’ head coach, Rankins said the team’s “culture is set,” and they’ve established their identity. 

“The culture is set now,” Rankins said. “Obviously, when a new coach comes in he’s working overtime to find his identity imprinted within the framework of the team. Getting the team to function without him having to say every little thing over and over again. So, obviously coming back, same quarterback leading the team and then defense, a lot of continuity. His culture is set. So, I think it’s easy to get back in here and honestly feel my role like I did last time and then just get ready to play a ball.”

Titans

Titans second-year TE Gunnar Helm said that he’s entering this season with a “nothing to lose” mindset as he looks to take a second year jump.

“Yeah, I mean, I come in here just like a rookie,” Helm said, via Titans Wire. “I mean, it’s almost like a nothing-to-lose mindset, except, you know, playing more freely, I feel. But as a rookie, to me it really was nothing to lose.”